Deed in Lieu of Foreclosure: A personal journey

[plarvo]

I just want to let you know that the banks are f'd and I personally know for a fact that there is some serious shenanigans going on in trying to coverup a huge amount of bad loans on the books.  Why do I know this, because I wanted to give first hand view of what happens when you become a statistic in the world of trying to get rid of your house in a dead market.

House for sale since 10/21/2007
Received first offer for the house at 50k less than stated price on June 3, 2009
Decided to accept offer for a short sell
Had to submit paper work 4 different times between June 3rd to July 12th.
All during the process, documents were lost, couldn't find in system, when the week earlier they said all was there.
July 13th, was denied because I had a home equity loan on it, and it was only 500 dollars.
Paid it off, still denied
Buyer walked in frustration
Got another offer (same exact offer as the first one) on July 24th.  HAD TO START THE WHOLE PROCESS OVER
Documents submitted three times this time around
August 14th - denied AGAIN, but this time the bank felt the price was too far under the value of the house, bank suggested I due a deed in lieu
Since the deed in lieu group is different, I had to start the process all over again with new paper work, even though the paperwork is the exact same as a short sell
Decided to record phone calls moving forward
Submitted paper work again
Called five days later, said they had it
Called the following week for status and said they were missing the proof of income
I didn't submit it fast enough and they closed the process out without contacting me.  HAD TO START OVER, now August 30th
submitted everything again, called five days later and they said it was assigned to a negotiator, hurray!
Got a letter on Sept 5th saying I was denied for a short sell!  They still had me on file as a short sell (due to old history) so they closed my file out AGAIN. 
Guess what, I had to start the process all over again.
Called every week and honest to god each week they said they didn't have something I swore they had the week before.  Got so pissed I started playing back the weeks earlier phone call and they were totally befuddled on what to do, was sent to supervisor who said they were sorry, reassigned to negotiator for a deed in lieu
Fast forward to last thursday and I called and they said the realtor agreement expired so I had to get a new one.  Sent in on Saturday.  Will call again this week where I'm sure something will be wrong.

There MUST be a policy to stretch these things as long as possible and if there is even an inkling of something wrong is to close the file out and and make the customer start over.  5 months so far and I don't see any end in sight.

CRAZY SHITE man, crazy crazy crazy.

[Roberto Thorn]

who was your original lender.  who was the loan sold to?  have you contacted an attorney (i know it sounds crazy when you're already losing money)  i feel for you man.  makes you just want to take you loaded 12 gauge and kill some mf'er.

[plarvo]

Wells Fargo, still Wells Fargo.  Already thought of going that route.  Unfortunately the do still have everything.

[Ellie]

That's WAY beyond even the most extreme "normal" corporate customer service screw-ups.

If you're not going to get anything out of the house anyway (couldn't tell from your post), you should think about doing up a deed yourself, find an attorney that will look it over for an initial consultation fee, and send it in for recording. Then send Wells Fargo a copy of it along with the keys.

In other words, force them to take it back even if they don't want to.

[kmaine2]

Well, for what it is worth, I would try contacting my local Senator or Congress person and share this story. This bank took a butt load of cash from, you, the tax payer. I might also try telling this story to a local news person.
This is bullshit. They play this game of stall and lose-the-papers in the hope that you will back down. Funny but if you were to go into foreclosure they would have all the documentation they needed.

[Megadoom]

When I sold my Lacombe ranch in Lacombe I had the same problem, and yes it was "Wells Fargo" too. 5 months of back and forth paperwork, being told one thing, then need another, more lies, etc.

Wells Fargo can go F##k itself!!!

[feelingweird]

Several Important questions if you can answer them please.

1) Are you still living in the house??

2) IF yes to 1. Are you paying any thing more than the utilities?

3) How is the property taxes handled.. Do you pay them seperate and keep them up(same goes for house insurance).

4) Has the sherrif or anyone else made a move to lock you out of the house..

I am just wondering how far you'll be able to drag this out and at least get a free place to stay while you get through this very painful process. Are you stashing away the money you are hopefully saving? If so what are your plans if you leave the home?

I am asking for personal reasons. If you'd prefect to PM me with this info, I'd very much appreciate it.. Thanks..

FeelingWeird

[max_power]

Why didnt you just let them foreclose instead of the deed in lieu?

[teotwawkian]

The only answer to the current manipulation of American citizens is to en masse stop paying your mortgage and credit card bills. The reason each of us is being bled dry like helpless sheep is because we allow this to happen. Divided they can run these scams and abuse on us until the cows come home and the bailout money (our money) is all spent. Whenever you aid and abet these crooks you become an unwitting accomplice and the game is played on and on ad infinitum.

This charade ceases only when enough folks band together and say, "No! Enough! You no longer have any right to exploit me. I refuse to allow this to continue!"

[justanouveaufarmer]

We went through an abbreviated version of this when JPMorgan/Chase took over our mtg and shorted us an electronic payment.  The old man got pissed and quit paying altogether.  They started the foreclosure process.  We tried to stay in contact and hurry it along, even offered to come to their office to sign papers or deed it over.  We couldn't get them to do anything.  They made it clear they didn't want to work with us in any way.  Finally we just moved out and rented out the house.  Told our new tenant we didn't know how long the foreclosure was going to take so we did a short term lease and charged less than average rent.  Tenant is very happy to have cheap rent.  We are very happy to have an extra grand a month coming in.  JPMorgan -    We haven't made a payment in over a year.  They refuse to go forward with the foreclosure. 

Banks want to keep showing mortgages on their books because it's an asset.  If they get the house back they lose an asset and gain a liability.  If they had to take back ALL the houses that are in default...

Bottom line is they have NO motivation to work with you.  See if there's a way to turn that to your advantage.

[PerfectScotty]

My brief experience with Wells Fargo is they are a pain in the ass PERIOD. I have a savings account with them and while trying to open this account they wanted to know if I was happy with my life insurance, my mortgage, my credit cards, retirement savings, retirement planning and a whole bunch of other things. It took 30 minutes to open a savings account that only pays .15% interest, what an incredible waste of time ! Every time I go to make a deposit there is some silly holdup with a manager having to provide an approval code prior to taking my deposit or last time they tried to talk me into a checking account with a debit card. I see they have really jerked you around so I'm going to copy and paste your post to my local Craigslist rants and raves, I suggest everyone do the same thing - it only takes a few minutes and it really starts to get the word out fast.

[plarvo]

Several Important questions if you can answer them please.

1) Are you still living in the house??

2) IF yes to 1. Are you paying any thing more than the utilities?

3) How is the property taxes handled.. Do you pay them seperate and keep them up(same goes for house insurance).

4) Has the sherrif or anyone else made a move to lock you out of the house..

I am just wondering how far you'll be able to drag this out and at least get a free place to stay while you get through this very painful process. Are you stashing away the money you are hopefully saving? If so what are your plans if you leave the home?

I am asking for personal reasons. If you'd prefect to PM me with this info, I'd very much appreciate it.. Thanks..

FeelingWeird

Nope relocated because of job
Paying everything, insurance, taxes, utilities, landscaping.  I'm trying to be a good house owner. I just can't sell the damn thing and want to get rid of it. 
No sheriff, they don't come until the bank says boo.  As long as you are working with the bank, I think there is not action to be taken

[kmaine2]

Several Important questions if you can answer them please.

1) Are you still living in the house??

2) IF yes to 1. Are you paying any thing more than the utilities?

3) How is the property taxes handled.. Do you pay them seperate and keep them up(same goes for house insurance).

4) Has the sherrif or anyone else made a move to lock you out of the house..

I am just wondering how far you'll be able to drag this out and at least get a free place to stay while you get through this very painful process. Are you stashing away the money you are hopefully saving? If so what are your plans if you leave the home?

I am asking for personal reasons. If you'd prefect to PM me with this info, I'd very much appreciate it.. Thanks..

FeelingWeird

Nope relocated because of job
Paying everything, insurance, taxes, utilities, landscaping.  I'm trying to be a good house owner. I just can't sell the damn thing and want to get rid of it. 
No sheriff, they don't come until the bank says boo.  As long as you are working with the bank, I think there is not action to be taken

We are in a similar situation. But we are in the very early stages. Just put the house on the market this summer. Found out that we are about 30 thousand dollars underwater.  It is our hope to buy another house  in the future  but we are considering owner financing and cutting the bank out of the whole thing.  We just don't want to screw up our credit until we have no choice but to screw it up.. Early days yet.

Plarvo, have you bought another home or are you renting?

[feelingweird]

Thank you Plarvo.. I just got off the phone with WellsFargo and got a good repayment plan from them.

If I make my normal payments for the next 3 months, they'll take the back amount(about 2 or 3 months,) and refinance it back into the loan. This is great news for me right now as we had fallen behind, but with the wife working and my unemployment, we should be able to keep this agreement... Here is to hoping the wife doesn't lose her job >....

FeelingWeird

Several Important questions if you can answer them please.

1) Are you still living in the house??

2) IF yes to 1. Are you paying any thing more than the utilities?

3) How is the property taxes handled.. Do you pay them seperate and keep them up(same goes for house insurance).

4) Has the sherrif or anyone else made a move to lock you out of the house..

I am just wondering how far you'll be able to drag this out and at least get a free place to stay while you get through this very painful process. Are you stashing away the money you are hopefully saving? If so what are your plans if you leave the home?

I am asking for personal reasons. If you'd prefect to PM me with this info, I'd very much appreciate it.. Thanks..

FeelingWeird

Nope relocated because of job
Paying everything, insurance, taxes, utilities, landscaping.  I'm trying to be a good house owner. I just can't sell the damn thing and want to get rid of it. 
No sheriff, they don't come until the bank says boo.  As long as you are working with the bank, I think there is not action to be taken

[swampman]

Thank you Plarvo.. I just got off the phone with WellsFargo and got a good repayment plan from them.

If I make my normal payments for the next 3 months, they'll take the back amount(about 2 or 3 months,) and refinance it back into the loan. This is great news for me right now as we had fallen behind, but with the wife working and my unemployment, we should be able to keep this agreement... Here is to hoping the wife doesn't lose her job >....

FeelingWeird

get it in writing.  My tenant is a 25 year old with poor credit.  The bank financed his used car two years ago at 18% interest.  Needless to say, his loan is under water since his SUV has depreciated far greater than the amount of the loan outstanding.  Add to that the fact that he has lost his license for the next year and a half due to a DUI conviction.  He is behind on his loan and the bank said to pay the $600 he is in arrears and they will refinance at a lower rate.  He paid the $600 and they reneged on the deal. Oh yeah, his 75 year old grandfather with dementia co-signed the loan and is responsible for it.  He is trying to give them the car back, but they have refused saying they would rather repo it.